Starting device for explosive-engines.



APPLICATION FILED FEB. 24,1911- Patented Feb. 23, 1915.

' ATTOBE THE NORRIS PETERS Cc.v PHOTO-LITHQ. WASHINGPON. D. C!

LEWIS o. VAN turns,

on NEW YORK, N. Y.

STARTING limit-VICE FOB EXPLOSIVE-ENGINES.

To all whom it may concern: I

Be it known that'I, Lewis G. VAN RIPER,

of the borough of Manhattan, city,-county,

' and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Starting Devices for Explosive-Engines, of which the following is a specification.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a starting device for explosive engines which will release the crank handle, or other means used in operating the device, from the engine shaft upon forward or backward ro tation of said engine shaft by its engine and avoid any danger to the person or mechanism when a back fire occurs, and is an improvement upon several pending applications for Letters Patent, filed by me in the United States Patent Oflice, as follows: Sept. 12, 1910, Serial No. 581,600; Oct. 6, 1910, Serial No. 585,577; Jan. 25, 1911, Serial No. 604,565; Feb. 20, 1911, Serial No.

($09,760; Feb. 23, 1910, Serial No. 610,168,

- in the United States Patent Office.

application I have shown a modified form.

and two applications filed by me jointly with Abraham Novick as follows: Nov, 30.

1910, Serial No. 594,834.; Dec. 1-1, 1910, Serial No. 597,335, in both of which I have acquired the entire interestof said Abraham Novick by assignments duly recorded In this of release wherein rollers are used to form a roller bearing for the friction surface whichis wedge shaped and therefore willv not be so likely to slip under severe strain.

I am aware that dogs are shown and claimed in my co-pending application Serial No. 609,760, filed February 20th, 1911 and it is not my intention to claim broadly here in the use of dogs for releasing the clutch on back fire of engine, but to limit my present invention to the particular kind orstyle of dogs shown and described herein which I have termed for the purpose of distinction sliding friction dogs.

To the accomplishment of the aforesaid objects, my invention consistsin the peculiar novel construction, arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification.

Like numerals of reference wherever they occur, denote like parts throughout this specification and drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a side view partly in section of my device as attached to an automobile Specification of Letters Patent.

frame, Fig. 2 is an end view of the clutch mechanism, Fig. 3 shows the principal parts in detail, Fig. 4 is a section line AA of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a sectional view with a variation in the friction dogs and the nonrotatable friction surface.

This device consists of a supporting member 1 fastened to the front cross member 2' of an automobile frame, or it may be fas-' tened direct to the engine or other suitable place. The bearing 4 which forms a part of the supporting member 1 carries thev crank handle shaft 3, at one end of which is fastened the crank handle 6 while the other.

end is formed into a flattened portion 7 as shown in Figs 3' and 4. When the crank handle shaft-3 is rotated in the direction of arrows 11 and 12 the flattened portion 7 of shaft 3 bears against the clutch members 8 and 9 at 27 and 28 respectively, thus forc-,

ing the said clutch members 8 and 9 apart and causing the wedge shaped friction shoes 15 and 16 to frictionally grip the friction disk 10 which may be a part of or connected,

to the engine shaft 18. The clutch members 8 and 9 are guided in each other by the plunger-s 13 and 1 1. lhis said frictional gripping takes place only upon the continued forward rotation of the crank handle shaft 3 until the sliding friction dogs 19 and Patented net. as, 1915.

Application filed February 24, 1911. Serial No. 610,562.,

20 are forced backward on their rollers 29 in face; 5 which forms a part of the support ing member 1. When the engine back fires a backward impulse is imparted to the engine shaft 18 which rotates the friction disk 10 backward, while the clutch members 8 and 9 are prevented from rotatingbackward along with lhefriction disk 10 by means of the sliding friction dogs 19 and 20 wedging themselves against the non-rotatable friction surface 5 thereby reducing the friction between the friction shoes 15 and 16 and the friction disk 10 thus permitting the friction disk 10 to rotate backward without the starting device following, as the said reduced friction allows the friction disk 10 to slip on the friction shoes 15 and 16. When the engine starts forward under its own power the increased speed of the engine shaft over the speed of the starting device will automatically release the starting device from the engine shaft, but more positive means may be used by adapting the disengaging plates 17am 24, plate 17"b eingfastened to clutchmember 8 and plate 24 to clutch'member 9; The hook ends 25 and 26 of the plates 24 and 17 respectively reaching %I'O'11I1d the crank handle shaft 7 as shown in The sliding friction dogs 19 and 20 may be wedge shaped with the non-rotatable friction surface having a wedge shaped groove tomafch as shown insection in Fig. This construction makesthe friction grip of thesliding. friction dogson' the non-rotatable friction surface more positive.

What I claim', is-:

1. In a starting device adapted to be used in'' connection with explosive engines, the combination of an annular grooved friction surface upon or connected to an engine shaft, an expandin'gfriction clutch rotatable both forward and backward, having wedge shaped friction shoes to engage the said grooved friction: surface,2 1neans for frictionally' connecting said friction clutch to said engine shaft through said friction surface to move connectedly in a forward direction and means for reducing the friction in said frictional connection upon backward rotation of said engine shaft by its engine, said friction reducing means comprising a non-rotatable frlction surface, sliding friction dogs, inclined planes upon said rot'atable clutch members, rollers between said dogs and'inclined planes and springs.

2;- In a starting device adapted to be used in" connection with explosive engines, the combination of an annular grooved friction surface upon or connected to an engine shaft, an expanding friction clutch rotatable both forward and backward, having wedge shapedfriction shoes to engage the said gro'oved'friction surface, means for frictionally connecting said friction clutch w said engine shaft through said friction surface to moveconnectedly in a forward direction, sliding friction dogs, inclined planes upon said rotatable clutch members, rollers 1 between said dogs and' inclined planes, a non-rotatable friction surface and springs for keeping the said sliding friction dogs always in frictional engagement with said non-rotatable friction surface.

3. In a starting device adapted to be used in connection with explosive engines, the combination of an annular grooved friction" surface upon or connected to an engine shaft, an expanding friction clutch rotatable both forward and backward having wedge shaped friction shoes to engage the said grooved friction surface, means for frictionally connecting said friction clutch to said engine shaft through said friction surface to move connectedly in a forward direction and means for reducing the friction in said frictional connection upon backward rotation of said engine shaft by its engine, said friction reducing means comprising a grooved non-rotatable friction surface, wedge shaped sliding friction dogs, in clined planes upon said rotatable clutch members, rollers between said dogs and inclined planes and springs.

4:. In a starting device adapted to be used in connection with explosive engines, the combination of an annular grooved friction surface upon or connected to an engine shaft, an expanding friction clutch rotatable both forward and backward having wedge shaped friction shoes to engage the said grooved friction surface, means for frictionally connecting said friction clutch to said engine shaft througl'i said friction surface to move connectedly in a forward direction, wedge shaped sliding friction dogs,

inclined planes upon said rotatable clutch members, rollers between said dogs and in- .clined planes, a grooved non-rotatable friction surface and means for keeping the said sliding friction dogs always in frictional engagement with the groove in said nonrotatable friction surface.

LEWIS C. VAN RIPER. Witnesses:

Frances SIEGEL, ABRAHAM NOVICE.

copies. at this patelifme'y be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

